The present invention relates to heels of shoes or boots, and more particularly relates to plastic heels of shoes or boots decorated with irregular figures, for example, leather grain like and/or stitching like figures, and processes for producing the same.
When decorating surfaces of plastic heel bodies of shoes or boots with leather or leather-like material, it has been adopted a means for clothing or covering the surfaces of heel bodies with leather naturally produced or artificially synthesized. However, in the conventional means, the heels are decorated by clothing or covering the heel bodies of a predetermined shape with leather or leather-like material, and bonding the leather or leather-like material to the surfaces of the heel bodies one by one.
In the meanwhile, another method for decorating heel surfaces of shoes or boots is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-54805, which comprises pasting a plate on a surface of a heel body, said plate having convex figures or letters, covering an upper surface of the plate with very thin leather or leather-like material, bonding the leather or leather-like material to the upper surface of the plate, and subsequently grinding or polishing the leather or leather-like material to expose the figures or letters and make the surface of the figures or letters flush with the surface of the leather or leather-like material.
However, there have been disadvantages such as low productivity for producing plastic heels decorated with leather or leather-like materials, high costs for producing shoes or boots thus caused, etc., in the conventional means for clothing or covering heel bodies of plastics with leather or leather-like materials since the respective heel bodies must be worked one by one.
In addition, a heel portion is situated or located at one of damageable portions of shoes or boots and thus breakdown or breakage of leather or leather-like material clothing or covering the heel bodies of shoes or boots is significant. As a result, the heel of shoes or boots must be repaired very often. Particularly, in the case of using leathers produced naturally such as kip or calf as clothing or covering materials of heel bodies, abrasions or cuts of the leather or leather-like materials which cover the heel bodies are liable to occur because of the softness thereof. In addition, characteristics such as gloss, elasticity or the like of the surface of the leather naturally produced are lost once poured water on itself. For these reasons, appearances of the heels are hurt.
Furthermore, according to the above second method which comprises pasting a plate on a surface of a heel body, said plate having convex figures or letters on an upper surface thereof, covering an upper surface of the of the plate with very thin leather or leather-like material bonding the leather or leather-like material to the upper surface of the plate, and subsequently grinding or polishing the leather or leather-like material to expose the figures or letters and make the surface of the figures or letters flush with the surface of the leather or leather-like material, high quality of the surface of the leather or leather-like material can not be sufficiently put to practical use since there is a possibility of injuring the surface of the leather or leather-like material at the step of grinding or polishing besides the complexity of the grinding or polishing step and the low productivity of the heels.
The present invention was therefore invented to obviate the various kinds of defects described above.